Biography

Michael Krainak

Michael J. Krainak is an instructor of film studies in the Department of Communications at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Mike is also a journalism instructor/adviser for the Omaha Public Schools. In the recent past he has served as film consultant for the Joslyn Art Museum and the Omaha Public Library. Born in Chicago and raised in Virginia and in northern Illinois, Mike received his B.A. in journalism and his M.A. in English from Creighton University. In addition he studied with the Nebraska Writing Project for two summers.

Mike has taught extensively in the Humanities and journalism for the past 30 years at the secondary level and has instructed in film history, theory and criticism, for the last twenty years at the university level. As mentioned, he has consulted in film for public and private concerns for two decades, including the River City Film Conference. he is an avid supporter of independent film and filmmakers locally and is currently involved in tow projects by former film students. He wrote film criticism for the Douglas County Gazette and looks for to more such work.

As the journalism adviser for North High School, a nationally-awarded America 2000 magnet school, his student newspaper, the North Star has dominated state contexts and university competitions for the past five years. He and his department were recently featured in a book studying minorities in high school journalism. In 1993 he was honored by Creighton University as journalism adviser of the year.

Mike will soon (1997) be married to his companion of the last twelve years and has two sons and a daughter from a previous marriage. He enjoys and collects films and posters, reading non-fiction and mysteries, traveling, hiking, fishing, and golf. Most of all, he enjoys instructing advising and counseling young people into film and journalistic careers, but looks forward to the day he can retire from one level of education and pursue more personal goals in similar fields.